Container for transporting, mixing or storing a flowable powdery or liquid substance

ABSTRACT

A container having a rotatable portion and a stationary portion which are joined together at an open end of the rotatable portion. The rotatable portion rotates around a shaft which is journaled in a bearing at a closed end and fixed to a frame. The rotatable portion is coupled to the stationary portion by a bearing radially spaced from the shaft with a sealing member arranged axially between the stationary and rotary portions.

United States Patent 1 1 J anhsen et a1.

1 1 Aug. 20, 1974 CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORTING,

MIXING OR STORING A FLOWABLE POWDERY OR LIQUID SUBSTANCE I [76]Inventors: Jakobus Janhsen, Fuchseckstrasse 6, 7331 Faurndau; MartinStorz, Pfingsthalde 32, 7341 Eybach, both of Germany 22 Filed: Nov. 23,1971 21 Appl.No.:201,423

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 25, 1970 Germany 2057890[52] U.S. C1 259/3, 259/D1G. 16, 259/89 [51] Int. Cl Bolt 9/02 [58]Field Of Search 259/DIG. 16, 3, 13, 14, 259/30, 55, 56, 57, 81 R, 81 A,89, 90, 175, 176, 177 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS2,350,285 5/1944 Maxon 259/176 2,835,123 5/1958 Galinski 259/81 R2,919,116 12/1959 Fischer 259/81 R X 2,964,300 12/1960 Lisowski et a1...259/81 R X 3,194,538 7/1965 Murray 259/3 3,216,666 11/1965 Svensson eta1. 259/89 X 3,259,372 7/1966 Phillips .1 259/3 3,400,185 9/1968 Kohnleet a1 1 259/81 R X 3,415,492 12/1968 Rule 259/3 FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS l/l948 Canada 259/177 R Primary Examiner-Harvey C. HornsbyAssistant Examiner-Philip R. Coe

[57] ABSTRACT A container having a rotatable portion and a stationaryportion which are joined together at an open end of the rotatableportion. The rotatable portion rotates around a shaft which is journaledin a hearing at a closed end and fixed to a frame. The rotatable portionis coupled to the stationary portion by a bearing radially spaced fromthe shaft with a sealing member arranged axially between the stationaryand rotary portions.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures maomz PATENTEDAUGZOIIQH SHEET 2 UF 2CONTAINER FOR TRANSPORTING, MIXING OR STORING A FLOWABLE POWDERY ORLIQUID SUBSTANCE This invention relates to a container for transportingand processing a flowable substance and more particularly concerns acontainer having a rotatable portion and a stationary portion formixing, wetting, aerating and dearating, drying a flowable substance.

All industries require effective handling of the materials to be workedin order to ensure rapid, low-cost processing and rapid transport of theraw materials and products. However, solids, particularly flowable andpowdery substances, and pastes, paints. liquids and chemicals of manykinds have to be packed and transported in expensive, uneconomicpackings such as sacks. bags. casings, barrels and the like. This modeof packing and the costs involved in packing material, packing machineryand packing appliances as well as the elaborate labor involved renderthe products unnecessarily costly. Moreover, many substances andmixtures tend to change either by chemical reaction or by dissociationof the mixture, which may be avoided by constant stirring, aeration ordeaeration or by tempering, but this csn not be carried by conventionalpackings. For example, many dispersions of paints. tend to decomposewith the settling of the heavy particles, which are deposited on thewalls and the bottom of the vessels. Thus industries delivering paintsin vessels are faced with a problem of accurately emptying these vesselssince the required, constant mixing ratio and the homogeneity cannot beguaranteed owing to the deposits left in the vessels. Nevertheless, itis absolutely necessary for ensuring an invariable quality and propertyof the final product to maintain the prescribed proportional compositionof the contents and to maintain the homogeneity. Additionally, in powderprocessing industries such as the synthetic resin industry. theinefficient packing of the raw material brings about the need forcarrying out many technical operations and for much labor simply forstoring the materials delivered in sacks, for tearing up these sacks andfor feeding the materials in special conveying systems to theappropriate feeding systems or the starting position of themanufacturing process.

According to the invention. there is provided a container comprising arotatable portion adapted to turn about a horizontal shaft and having atleast one open end connected to a stationary container portionconcentric with the shaft. The rotatable container portion is coupledthrough a bearing, (preferably a toothed rim bearing) to the stationarycontainer portion with a sealing member provided axially therebetweenand preferably near the bearing. The rotary shaft of the rotatablecontainer portion is suspended in a bearing at a closed end with thebearing being rigidly arranged with a bearing cushion on a frame or in aframework. The stationary container portion, however, is elasticallyconnected with the frame by means of resilient elements preferablyhaving a high self-damping effect. for example, rubber-steel element. Inthis way the container embodying the invention is held against anypotential moment on a supporting frame or in a framework so thatregardless of the charge or the position, the rotatable containerportion will rotate with a low amount of friction.

The stationary container portion is perferably provided with a fillingopening in the upper part and with an outlet opening on the lower sideso that during the rotation of the rotable container portion .thecontainer may be filled and emptied in a closed circuit. Additionally,blades or a mixing worm may be provided in conventional fashion on theinner wall of the rotatable container portion, which may extend throughthe open end into the stationary container portion for ensuring completeemptying of the container.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention toprovide a container having a rotatable portion and a stationary portionfor the economic packing, storing and transporting of flowable solids orliquids.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a container ofthe type described wherein the contents thereof may be simultaneouslymixed, stirred, aerated, deaerated, dryed, heated and cooled.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a container ofthe type described which is elastically-held on a frame to prevent anymoment on the supporting frame when the rotatable portion is rotatmg.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide acontainer of the type described wherein the container may becontinuously filled and emptied while the rotating portion is rotating.

These and-other objects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsideration in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 shows on an enlarged scale the connecting bearing and sealbetween the rotable portion and the stationary portion; and

FIG. 3 shows schematically a plurality of coupled containers suitablefor use as a feeding unit in a factory plant.

Referring, now to the drawings wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout, there is illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2 a container embodying the invention comprising arotable portion, generally designated as reference numeral 1, and astationary container portion 2, which are arranged on a displaceableframe 3. A closed end of the rotable portion 1 is provided with a stubshaft 4, which is rotable in a bearing 5 on the frame 3. The stub shaft4 may be hollow, to permit ducts to enter the container and provideeither a flowable solid, or a liquid or a gaseous substance or anaggregate or produce a vacuum or aerate or deaerate the contents of thecontainer. The rotable container portion 1 may have any shape, but ispreferred to use a cylindrical form with the stationary portion having afrustoconical extension. An open end of the rotable container portion 1is provided with a bearing 9 comprising a rotating race 7 which rotatescoaxially with an axis 6 of the shaft 4 and is rigidly secured centrallyto the rotable container portion 1 by a centering container flange 8.The rotating race 7 is joined to a stationary bearing race 29 via aplurality of balls 39 and a sealing or stuffing member 10. Thestationary bearing race 29, the balls 39 and stuffing member 10 are heldby the stationary container portion 2, which is rigidly secured to theframe 3 by means of elastic connecting elements 11, for example,rubber-metal elements. The elastic elements 11 and the connection of thestationary container portion 2 with the frame 3 are advantageouslyarranged in the jplane of rotation of the bearing 9 in order toeliminate the bending moments exerted on the bearing 9 and the stuffingmembers 10.

The bearing 9 absorbs both the axial forces and the radial forces inorder to ensure a torsion-free connection of the rotable containerportion 1 with the stationary container portion 2 in an axial and radialdirection.

ers. Moreover, the lower containers may be connected together with aduct system 22 which acts as a stationary buffer station for an adequatereserve of material.

A variant of the construction according to the invention is thecontainer 25, which has connected on each side of the rotating section1, a stationary container portion 2. Such a container may beadvantageously The stationary container portion 2 is advantageouslyprovided with a preferably upwardly orientated filling opening 12 and adownwardly orientated outlet opening 13 each of which have a flangeconnection 14 for communicating, for example, with a filling system or afeeding system. The outer end of the stationary container portion 2 hascentrally to the axis 6, a manhole which can be closed by a lid 15 andwhich can be opened for cleaning or inspection of the interior of thecontainer. The lid 15 may be replaced by a bearing lid, forincorporating an additional tool such as a worm conveyor or the like, lfdesired, a shaft, not shown in the drawings, may be joumaled in thebearing lid 15 and in the hollow stub shaft 4.

In the rotable container portion 1 an uninterrupted or an interruptedmixing and conveying helix 16 may be incorporated for stirring andmoving the contents of the container in the two axial directions, aswell as for filling and emptying the container by inversion of thedirection of rotation. The conveying helix 16, which may have as manyturns as desired, preferably extends beyond the rotable containerportion 1 into the stationary portion 2 for improved, filling andemptying.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the bearing 9 and the sealing or stuffingsystem 10. The bearing 9 is preferably arranged with the stuffing system10 in a housing 17, detachably connected with the stationary containerportion 2 in order to facilitate a change of seal by simply removing thestationary portion 2 by loosening a plurality of connecting elements 18.

The container according to the invention may be equipped with a stuffingsystem appropriate for the individual use. For example, FIG. 2 showsschematically a stuffing system 10 suitable for readjustment from theexterior, which may be adjusted in the event ofleakage by means ofintermediate pressure rings 19 and the aid of screws 20 inserted fromthe exterior. Instead of using the screws 20, a sealing agent or agaseous or liquid pressurized medium may be inserted between thestuffing members 10 for obtaining a permanent seal.

The rotable container portion 1 may be driven by a built-invariable-speed motor via a tooth rim 21 secured to the rotable portion 1or via other desired driving elements.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of a plurality of containers. which aresuitable, for example, for feeding a factory plant. For this purpose thecontainers are held in a known manner in a frame 13 surrounding thecontainer so that the containers may be arranged one above the other andside by side. The outlet openings 13 are preferably shaped so that, whenthe containers are vertically stacked, they can communicate, (ifnecessary with the aid of short connecting duets) with the fillingopenings 12 of a subjacent container. After complete exhaustion of anupper container, it may be replaced by a filled container withoutinterruption of the feeding operation which is fed from the lowercontainused as a stationary feeder That is, during the rotation and themovement of the substance within the container towards the outletopening 13, the container 25 may be refilled via the filling opening 12in the opposite end face.

The outlet openings 13 are coupled with the duct system 22, and may beprovided with a conveyor worm 23 in the case of powdery substances andthe like. It is preferable to couple the containers electrically witheach other so that at a command from a central control system via astandard circuit incorporated in each container, the required materialsmay be fed by means of the individual driving motor rotating theselected tooth rim of the rotable portion of the selecteed container inthe production chain. By using the containers in accordance with theforegoing, conventional conveying systems hitherto employed in factoryplants may be completely eliminated.

If required, the containers may be connected with many addition devices,for example, with a duct system for introducing into the rotationportion, prior to the processing thereof, the components of amulticomponent mixture or for inserting compressed air for improving theflowability. of powders. Moreover the filling openings 12 may beprovided with air adaptors, vacuum devices and the like.

lt should be understood that the foregoing relates to only a preferredembodiment of the invention, and that it is intended to cover allchanges and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosenfor the purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departuresfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:

1. A container for transporting, mixing or storing a flowable, powderyor liquid substance comprising,

a frame.

a rotatable portion rotatable about an axis of rotation, said rotatableportion having at least one open end,

a stationary portion, fixed to said frame,

coupling means for connecting one end of said stationary portion to saidrotatable portion at said open end, said coupling means comprising aring shaped member fixed to said open end of said rotatable portion andforming a rotating bearing race therat,

a bearing means arranged around said ring shaped member and supported bysaid one end of said stationary portion said bearing means including astationary bearing race means having a plurality of balls and astationary bearing race, said balls being inserted between said rotatingbearing race and said stationary bearing race,

said stationary portion having at least one closable opening, and

journal means for rotatably supporting said rotatable portion at the enddistal from said stationary portron.

ble portion includes a closed end at said journal means, said journalmeans including a bearing and a hollow stub shaft journalled in saidbearing.

6. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein said openend of saidrotable portion has an external toothed flange adapted to be engaged androtated.

7. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein said stationary portion iselastically mounted on said frame.

1. A container for transporting, mixing or storing a flowable, powderyor liquid substance comprising, a frame, a rotatable portion rotatableabout an axis of rotation, said rotatable portion having at least oneopen end, a stationary portion, fixed to said frame, coupling means forconnecting one end of said stationary portion to said rotatable portionat said open end, said coupling means comprising a ring shaped memberfixed to said open end of said rotatable portion and forming a rotatingbearing race therat, a bearing means arranged around said ring shapedmember and supported by said one end of said stationary portion saidbearing means including a stationary bearing race means having aplurality of balls and a stationary bearing race, said balls beinginserted between said rotating bearing race and said stationary bearingrace, said stationary portion having at least one closable opening, andjournal means for rotatably supporting said rotatable portion at the enddistal from said stationary portion.
 2. A container as recited in claim1 wherein said bearing means further includes sealing means arrangedbetween said rotating race and said stationary race.
 3. A container asrecited in claim 1 wherein said rotable portion further includes aconveying and mixing helix which extends into said stationary portion.4. A container as recited in claim 1 wherein said stationary portion isprovided with at least one filling opening and one outlet opening.
 5. Acontainer as recited in claim 1 wherein said rotable portion includes aclosed end at said journal means, said journal means including a bearingand a hollow stub shaft journalled in said bearing.
 6. A container asrecited in claim 1 wherein said openend of said rotable portion has anexternal toothed flange adapted to be engaged and rotated.
 7. Acontainer as recited in claim 1 wherein said stationary portion iselastically mounted on said frame.